Click here for some wonderfully eerie music and click here to carve a pumpkin online, amazingly enough.

For the carving-pumpkin side, thanks to Kitty Litter (who is back to posting, happily for us!) and for the lovely kitty amid pumpkins, thanks to chezmaya.com.

Labels: anniversaries, food, fun, music, things to do

Although some descriptions are a bit editorial, this clear and easy-to-navigate display of the national election races is a useful reference. One wonders that the BBC - and not a U.S. media outlet - put it together.

Labels: politics

A news story caught my eye that is worth mentioning from a boy is the world crazy, point of view. "An argument that started over cutting in line at a popular Middle Eastern food cart turned deadly when one man stabbed the other to death. New York City police said Tyrone Gibbons, 19, of Short Hills, New Jersey, was standing in line at a falafel cart in midtown Manhattan at about 4 a.m. Saturday when he and his friends got into an argument with Ziab Tayeh, 23, about cutting in line. Police said Gibbons and the man went their seperate ways. However, according to police they soon met up and a fight erupted, ending with the 19-year-old mortally stabbed in the chest.Ziab Tayeh of Brooklyn is charged with second-degree murder." It would be funny if they just smacked each other but under the circumstances it's one more example of how nuts we are way too much of the time.

Labels: huh?

I made a very important discovery thanks to being home all day: TCM hasn't stopped showing old black and white movies, thank heavens! They're just showing them in the wee hours or during the day when most of us are at work. Maybe they get a cut-back from vcr and dvr makers, what do you think? The good news today is that I got to watch three 70-minute wonderful movies. And I knew this but had forgotten that women and minorities were more even-handedly written and played then than now. (Of course it wouldn't be hard to write more intelligent adult women than are on How I Met Your Mother or Gray's Anatomy, but that's just me.) I also drank a fair amount of tea (spice, white and green), sucked Tylenol Cough and Cold meltaways (whoever invented meltaways deserves the as-yet-unannounced Nobel Prize for Kindness To Sick People), and draped new curtains over the windows in my living room with clips so I can see if I like them or not. Also went out briefly in the nice mellow sunshine and fed oil to my red metal housemate, the one that takes me to the train every day. Exciting day.

Labels: about me, movies, tv

There are many good things about living alone. I will wax rhapsodic about them, here, one of these days. But today I want to whine. If you live alone and you're home sick, everyone says "drink lots of tea" and "stay home until you feel better" when what you want them to say is "hurry back" and "it's no fun without you". Pathetic, really. Am I sorry enough for myself or what?

Labels: about me, whining

Juxtapositions often amuse me, especially same-day birthday celebrants. Check out today's and ponder what they may have in common: Joseph Goebbels (yikes), Bill Mauldin (WWII cartoonist), Winona Ryder (hmm), Richard Dreyfuss (?), Bela Lugosi (aha), James Boswell (the biographer), Fanny Brice (Ziegfeld Follies), Alfred Ayer (British philosopher/logician), Amanda Beard (Olympic breaststroke swimmer). . . .

Labels: anniversaries, juxtapositions

Some illogical, mistaken, and even a tad cruel assumptions underly the fuss surrounding Michael J. Fox's advertisements. First, Fox isn't some naive guy. He's smart - savvy, even - and a long-time part of a sophisticated complex part of the modern world so when he does something, he knows darn well what he's doing. And when he says he isn't looking for anyone's sympathy or pity, you gotta hear plain out disingenousness. What's the point of a celebrity adding his voice to the fray unless he has influence? It's foolish to pretend that Fox's influence in the stem cell discussion comes from fond memories of Alex Keaton. I mean, he's got to know it comes from sympathy for his unexpected unpleasant disease. But, it was ridiculous of Limbaugh to attack someone whose appeal is based on fondness and sympathy unless he wanted to help Fox. Why? Because even if it's probable that Fox allowed his symptoms to be particularly visible in order to load his message, this is one of those things you can't say, along the lines of no one will accept an attack on Shirley Temple. Then, on the issues (the what?!) the stem cell discussion is nowhere near as simple as funding supporters make out. The election issue is not about trying to stop stem cell research but simply about (a) using federal funds and (b) foresting new stem cells for research. Plus, and importantly, it is still unknown whether stem cells hold the key to curing paralysis or parkinsons or anything else. They may, but they may not. That's why good research is so important. Meantime it's downright cruel to sufferers to suggest that stem cells are nirvana.

Labels: politics

This is beyond unacceptable. As an extension of yesterday's mulberry bush, around which we are going 'round and 'round yet again, I have to say that it's madness to be unable to publish, still. Goggle Groups are packed with people saying the same thing. And the beta blogs are working, in case it's not crazy enough. Google should tell us if this is unfixable and they have just decided to chuck regular blogger, shouldn't they? I keep hitting "publish post" in hopes it'll work and every now and then it does. I guess the good news is that at least it's saving what I write. I've asked before and I'll ask again: if they don't want to support a free service, they shouldn't offer it but if they do offer it, they should support it. Or am I missing something? Update - I cannot believe it but at 1:20 on Sunday things are STILL broken. It is actually not to be believed. Among the hundreds of Google Group reports about how awful this weekend has been was a comment that blooger.com started going downhill after Google bought it. If that's true, then we'd better migrate somewhere else because I'm putting bets on blogger.com going out the window and beta becoming the way of the future...and why should it work any better since it's a hundred percent Google's? 1:35 - After clearing my cache and logging off (which wasn't enough) and then rebooting, I can publish. Finally. Now to decide whether to stay. The problem is that, like many blogger.com users, I like to be able to edit my html. If beta disallows that, combined with all this nonsense, then what?

Labels: blogs (mine), whining

There's no publishing on blogger again today. They keep saying they're fixing the outdated servers but why don't they at least notify us? I mean, there are two bazillion people using blogger so you'd think they want us staying. Update - almost two hours later (3:18) it's still not working. Neither through posts nor republish. Preview is the only thing that works. This is getting tired. Update again - it's 6:10 and working sporadically. Note to self: save post or you may have to rewrite the whole thing. Ugh ugh and double ugh.

Labels: blogs (mine), whining

As part of its Halloween observance, TCM is playing episodes from the Superman tv series. They're not at all sophisticated as far as the special effects, but one must consider that these were produced from 1952-58 which is half a century ago - for anyone who needs to feel really really old. Anyway, they're loads of fun. Their spirit is delightful, more so than the recent movies which took themselves awfully seriously.

Labels: movies, tv

Refrain though I usually do from tales of personal wellbeing or lack thereof, let me say that I don't know how those who blog while cold-y do it. I am now in the blowing (red) nose and drippy eye sequence, so I'm actually feeling better than I sound and look. (Ah the vagaries of the so-called common cold.) I'm engaging in post-expression again. (Hmm... "post" expression... a phrase to consider... hmm.... who is evidently drugged today.... who?)

Labels: about me, whining

Many thanks to Bookworm for this must-read about Leica's founder (of the original company, Leitz). Yes, there are kind and decent people in the world, even amid horror and grotesque cruelty. Ernst Leitz II richly deserved, although he completely refused, public kudos. So now we have a philosophical reason to buy and flaunt Leicas.

Labels: blogs (others'), s.p.e.e.d.ing

The run-up to election day is always rife with radio and television ads. They're annoying enough (although they don't seem as ghastly this year as they did last year, or maybe I'm just not paying as much attention). But sure enough, at the top of the stairs to the train this morning, one of them was thrusting flyers at people as they approached the steps to the train. It always amazes me that they don't realize most people don't want any of this before the sun is up. Well, this guy had gotten a "no thank you" from the person two ahead of me, as a result of which he peevishly said "I guess some people don't care what's happening to their country." As I result of which I was somehow awake enough to say, "Maybe some people don't want to have anyone shove something at them and have their way blocked on their way to work."

Labels: people, politics, reflections

Good weekend at NYS Sheep & Wool! Phenomenally crowded on Saturday, due partly to the beautiful weather but also because of all the bloggers (see next paragraph). It was close to critical mass where it isn't fun because too many people bump into you. Textile people are grand, so most people were apologetic and friendly even as we whammed into each other. I spoke with one of the festival organizers and she said Saturday's attendance equalled Dutchess County Fair's for three days combined this year (around 34,000). How about that?! Plus, facilities managers had limited the number of food concessions so the food lines were insane (40-60 minutes for a hamburger being insane, right?). Anyway, Yarn Harlot is showing some nice photos and if you go to flickr and type "rhinebeck", you'll see some nice collections there too. So today (Sunday) I went back to look at things I couldn't see due to the huge crowds. The traffic nazis were out of sight (they were seriously out of control yesterday) and I parked right near an entrance, which was nice. The crowd was the perfect size for wandering around. I met several commuting friends including one with her 'new' baby (now nearly two), and I got to see pretty much all the fair. I bought some gifts for friends and a yummy alpaca blanket for myself (at a great price - last hour of the fair and all) and now I can't wait to sleep under it. I also bought beautiful yarn and several bunches of roving in great colors (though I'm betting bunches is the wrong word). Plus, I got to spend all those hours in the fresh fall air. Oh, and then today as I was looking at something or other, a voice nearby said "nice colors" and I looked around to find a friend I hadn't seen in nearly a year. That was a nice addendum. All in all, minor problems aside, the sheep were fabulous, the cashmere goats divine, the angora rabbits adorable, the llamas and alpacas haughty and cute, the vendors almost universally terrific, and the workshops informative and fun. Super festival.

And Rhinebeck Bingo was fantastic. A great way to meet-and-greet people you want to talk with anyway. (Schools should use it for new students.) Everywhere you went, someone with a little sign like your own ('squares' or 'players' logo) would smile as if she or he was someone you know but don't quite recognize, and say, "hi, I'm ---! Are we on each other's board??!" The game was a complete blast. On Saturday, a gathering of RB players looked about a hundred strong, just standing around near Building A. It was amazing. The friend I went with was astonished to learn that so many knitters blog. She said she can just about handle the idea that so many people knit/crochet/weave/spin/etc. but when you add blogging to the mix it boggles her mind. (Knitting bloggers boggle her mind. Ha.)

Labels: fun, knitting, people

Happy birthday, about a week late, to blog and erstwhile childhood friend, DevraDoWrite. To judge by her posts, essays, thoughts and the events she's mentioned, it was an interesting and productive year. I wish all that and more for her for the next year. Recently she quoted A.S. Byatt from Elementals: Stories of Fire and Ice.

The divide is not between the servants and the served, between the leisured and the workers, but between those who are interested in the world and its multiplicity of forms and forces, and those who merely subsist, worrying, or yawning... The world is full of light and life, and the true crime is not to be interested in it.

I also liked the several quotations about how important it is to dance - although she left out Emma Goldman's "If I can't dance, I won't be part of your revolution", supposedly delivered to Vladimir Lenin to remind him that joy must be part of life, no matter how intense or focused that life may be otherwise. Indeed, it's not always pleasant, this world of ours, and it sounds a bit rarefied, but joy, involvement and engaged interest are vital.

Labels: blogs (others'), reflections

Off to the festival today. Looking foward to meeting other "squares" and "players" and just having a good time and buying lots of great stuff. See you there!

Labels: knitting

Just got home from the Shepherd's Rug class (part of the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival). Did I like it? Tons! Did I learn a new skill? (See my rug!) >>
I loved it. Were the teachers good? Awesome, actually. Did I have fun? All I can say is this: wonderful teachers (Ann and Letty), wonderful materials (roving), wonderful classmates (Alice, Michele, Stephanie, Wingdale, L.A. and Bucks County women, etc., etc.), wonderful day!!!!!

Labels: knitting

I swore I wasn't going to say anything else on this, but along came the interview with the priest who molested Foley and my blood is boiling. Father Anthony Mercieca, known to boys in Fort Worth as "Father Tony", was a real pal. Only a pal would do some of the things they all did together which Mercieca agreed "Foley might perceive as sexually inappropriate". Astonishing words in the circumstances. MIGHT???! PERCEIVE??! How could there be any question? Mercieca describes skinny dipping with the boys and naked saunas together. He says he spent time naked with Foley, massaging the equally naked boy. All reported so matter-of-factly. How are such actions anything but inappropriate? Tell me even one time when it would be appropriate for a priest to be naked with a teenager. Let alone massaging and skinny dipping. It boggles my mind.

And while we're at it, tell me when the Catholic Church will act appropriate with bad priests? The vile Mercieca's current residence on the island of Gozo surely is his superiors' brilliant way of resolving the problem (read: remove him and hope no one finds out) making it yet one more time when, appallingly, the Church practiced hypocrisy (preaching kindness and goodness and personal responsibility while abdicating those dictates over and over). And, yes, Foley is responsible for his actions, but the Church is responsible (albeit evidently avoidably) for injuring the bodies and souls of hundreds and probably thousands of boys and girls because of disgusting human beings - priests - like this one.

Labels: politics

Alas, it turns out there's a fallacy in the neat idea of collapsed menus which I've happily used for my linkages. You can't search or use a 'go to' link for a hidden title or link! E.g., if you wanted to go to Socks 101, you'd have to know to go to Knitting, Crocheting & Weaving and then Resources. Otherwise you'd just get "not found" for your effort. So I'll be displaying all the links again, at least until someone comes up with a way to hide and yet not hide. (Which might have other uses, too, come to think of it.)

Labels: blogs (mine), web design

First, let me say that I enjoyed the Project Runway season. Watching energetic people snag some fabric for $100 or $200 and then design and make a garment in twenty-four hours never got boring and impressed me every week. But I found the finale frustrating. Michael had won viewers over hook line and sinker but seemed to run out of steam after quite the creative mid-season burst; his so-called safari collection was disjointed and a bit dull. Although Ule avoided having only her familiar flowy colorful things in the final collection, there weren't enough to raise it enough but I predict she will open a store - or already has - and will be a huge success with wearable and pretty dresses. Mawkish, rude and crude Jeffrey brought his mohawk-haired girlfriend and baby (yes, the baby has a mohawk, too) and pranced around in his ugly tatoos and boots. I have seen and could buy every one of his so-called designs in the Village with no trouble, even some in Wal-Mart with selective purchases, yet the judges continued to fall all over themselves saying how clever they thought his work to be. Meanwhile Laura wore a smashing maternity dress and shrug sweater while presenting an elegantly designed and made collection that seemed to me to run the others out of town. I also predict Laura will be a huge success making clothing for clientele who want unique and fabulous clothes.

I never understood the judges' dislike for Laura nor their delight with Jeffrey. From the outset it felt as if they wanted to 'auf' Laura but her work was too meticulously put together. Laura never made clothes before except for herself (!) whereas many of the others, and all the other finalists, had done some professional design work and Jeffrey has a business in L.A. designing punkwear. For some reason the judges liked Jeffrey despite unoriginal and uninteresting designs, going over budget and breaking a rule (which last must have frosted Keith just a tad). Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I was disappointed tonight.

Labels: runway, tv

I can't help it. I don't smoke crack or drink (much) alcohol or have a pierced belly button or clip my nails in public but I do find it impossible to resist changing the look of my blog often. Maybe if I was more astute and had something important to say I wouldn't get so carried away by the appearance of whatever foolishness I do manage to say. So, I'm sorry, really I am. Really.

Labels: blogs (mine)

I received my Rhinebeck Blogger Bingo playing card this morning and, all excited, zipped around, checking out the blogs of my card's 25 squares. They are awesome, simply awesome, every one of them. Truly I am impressed. Not a boring or unattractive page among them. I suppose the craft and manual dexterity thing is the reason, but they're amazing. I'm also awed at their work. Their knitting and crocheting puts mine to shame, I'm afraid. I always thought I was pretty good. Not the best in the world but okay. Now I have a massive case of knitter envy. And we're all girls so how you going to explain that, Sigmund??

Labels: blogs (others'), knitting

Listening to the phone calls from people in Hawaii, some of whom say it was as long or longer than the huge one in California, obviously my first thought is to wish everyone there my best in terms of health and emotional support. It must be phenomenally scary and I feel very bad for them. Since one always personalizes things, I also can't help thinking about the bookcases and paintings that would have crumbled to the floor if it happened near my house. I often think that it would be awesome to retire to northern California - lots of sun, low humidity, ocean all the time - until this kind of thing happens and then I wonder. Anyway, at least they have beautiful things to look forward to once the crisis is done, and that's something good anyway.

Labels: places

Only five days til the annual Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck (which I call "sheep-to-shawl" partly because I swear that was its first name and if it wasn't, it should have been). I'm looking forward to it, as always. There will be alpacas, llamas, sheep, border collies, angora rabbits, zillions of knitters and fiber workers, workshops, things to learn, things to do, lots of ideas, lots of things to buy. And a neat new game, too, Rhinebeck Bingo, which looks like a fun way to meet some of the people we read and correspond with all year long. (I'm a player and a square, so tag me and say hi!)

Labels: fun, knitting

Someone walked by my desk yesterday and said they think it's weird how they always feel better on Friday than any other day. On the one hand I appreciate his enthusiasm but on the other I hate that sense of work week vs. weekend. What do you think?

Labels: reflections

The NY Times (in an article you can only access with a (free) account) said this painting by Wilhelm de Kooning was just bought by one of "the" players on the hedge fund and art collecting scenes. Which I mention partly out of jealousy but mostly because I had quite a start when I saw the picture. In pre-historic times (i.e., when I was a little girl), my father was a somewhat ballyhooed critic of the arts and he knew lots of people. One day he took me to visit de Kooning's Greenwich Village studio. I was horrified by the smell of the oil paint and overwhelmed by the intensity of everyone and everything there, but it made such an enormous impression on me that I've never forgotten the smells or the colors. The Times made a point of saying that this was from the years de Kooning had his studio in the Village (before he moved to Long Island) and it certainly looks like what I remember, so it may be the very painting I saw.

Labels: about me, modern culture

To go along with my tale of a real true blue conspiracy theorist, I want to mention two things. One is that last evening a strange looking trio brought a gekko in a cage with a blanket onto the train and eventually let the thing walk on seat backs and the floor. Can you say "let me out of here!"? The other, not at all nutty, thing is that I sat across from a nice normal woman and we chatted all the way home about all kinds of things. She was delightful. A native Californian, her interesting observations about both coasts, and life on each, are worth repeating. For example, apparently one goes "to the beach" in California but "to the ocean" here. And although people are smart and intelligent on both coasts, on the sunny west coast they almost always do something outdoors while engaging in intellectual pursuits. I particularly liked her descriptions of the different colors on each side of the country - vivid bright blue ocean (Pacific), steel blue-gray ocean (Atlantic), solid green leaves and grass (Calif.), bright shiny green grass and leaves (east coast), transparent light rain (west coast), sheets of shiny gray/black wet rain (east). And you should hear her descriptions of snow!

Labels: huh?, modern culture, politics

Saturday evening we watched Nowhere in Africa, on the recommendation of a friend from work. It's one of the loveliest movies I've seen in years, one of those where you walk around with the people and scenes for days afterwards. The movie is the true story of a young Jewish couple and their daughter (the author, Stephanie Sweig) who leave pre-war Germany and go to Kenya which is under British control. One shouldn't be put off by any suggestion of agony; the movie grabs hold of you like a good book and doesn't let go even when it's done. Walter had been a lawyer in Germany and the family had been active socially but in Kenya they have to work very differently - physically in the fields - without social standing or prestige, and it's a slow difficult learning process for them all. The daughter's school adventures are particularly charming. Caroline Link's writing and direction has drawn everyone in three dimensions with the result that everyone is interesting, from the family members themselves to the cook to the school principal to the neighboring children and even to the peripheral characters. I highly recommend it.

Labels: movies

Watched The Spanish Apartment Sunday evening. It's about a young French man about to embark on his financial career when he's told he'll do much better with more knowledge of Spanish language and economics, so off he goes to Barcelona for a year's graduate study in both. He leaves behind a wispy girlfriend and a hippie-ish mother and embarks on plenty of adventures - amorous and otherwise - with the friends and acquaintances he meets in Spain. The other roommates in said apartment are from England, Italy, Germany, the U.S. and Spain, which allows for plenty of observations about human nature, all dressed up in a slightly goofy, well made and quite charming movie.

Labels: france, movies

Is there any way to get a 36-hour day? On weekends I need time to unwind, time to do errands, time to cook and eat, time to clean, time to organize things, time to spend with friends . . . basically make a life that isn't just up/commute/work/home/sleep. How do people do it all?

Labels: about me, modern culture

One of Seablogger's gems - a reflection on last week's goings on.

Labels: blogs (others'), politics

Going home recently, I sat down beside an apparently pleasant women who willingly made room for my bag in the space between us. Such is not always the case and usually means the person is nice. We chatted a bit while organizing jackets and reading material for the hour-plus ride ahead of us, all very low-key. One of us said something about the high price of homes where we live (over sixty miles from a major urban/work center). As we were about to turn to our books, she said something about soon we'll need wheelbarrows full of money just to buy milk, like the Weimar Republic in Germany in the '30s. I should have known to keep my mouth shut but allowed myself to say "oh?" and she was off and running. She asked whether I realized that Hitler used the term "terrorists" to describe the Jews, which shows that we're at the beginning of our own holocaust. And don't I realize our government legally can (and does) enter homes without an owner's permission and puts and removes things on and from the computers? Don't I realize that we bombed the World Trade Center ourselves (a) for oil and (b) to gain international good will? Don't I realize that Ossama bin Laden is a CIA operative which is why he doesn't do more and hasn't been killed? Don't I realize that both WTC buildings imploded and vaporized because "they" wired the buildings before they bombed them? Don't I wonder why #7 came down too since it wasn't bombed (safety apparently not being a good answer). I quietly asked who "they" are at some point; her answer was to smile and recommend "alternative news sources". She asked whether I realize that five companies run everything in the U.S.? And don't I wonder why the WTC debris was cleaned up so quickly and sent to China (huh?)? She said there are books that prove our spies have infiltrated every government in the world and that we change economies and political situations whenever we feel we need to. I'm reluctant to write down everything she said lest some search engine somewhere pick up on it and I get attention from readers I totally do not want. Let me say that I agree there are many unanswered questions about many things but I don't believe a government could be in control of many governments and activities yet clearly not have things their (our) way. Nor that a government would be so cavalier with its citizens and soldiers unless it was horribly evil. Do people who believe these things think our government is satanic? If so, why are they here?

As she was getting ready to leave, she smiled and said I'd been in the presence of a real true genuine conspiracy theorist. (No kidding.) Mind you, I've been called a conspiracy theorist because I feel sure there was more to the plane explosion over Long Island than broken parts. Ha. If they only knew. ("They"??!)

Labels: huh?, politics

Although the Foley escapade must be partly what brought this on, there's another outing on the web that you may not want to miss. The Anchoress's Outing myself and whoever else wants outing is a riot (although don't read it if you're easily offended or thought she is really a cloistered nun). And Seablogger's reaction is fun, too.

Labels: blogs (others'), reflections

Dustbury points out The Celebrity Ranker, which assesses 22998 (as of this writing) of the obvious (blond singers, models and actresses) as well as anyone with a web page identifiable by Google. Thus one discovers that I am 3.745% popular and 3.9029% sexy (7=popular, 1=not). Amazing.

Labels: blogs (mine), blogs (others'), silliness

Re: the (putative) place, not the dance: this. But where will dead babies and mid-repentence sinners go til they may move on? Can they now go straight to heaven? How come? Was it a myth all along?

Labels: reflections, silliness

Someone told me that the Amish girls' murderer was homeschooled. It was said as if that explained everything. Perhaps it was something about him evidently lacking good social skills or playing well with others. Sarcasm aside, I doubt that most schoolyard murderers were homeschooled. I suspect mass murderers come from a variety of edcuational backgrounds, probably mostly public, but I suppose it's worth checking out.

Labels: modern culture, reflections

With no idea as to when those of us not getting our recreation on either coastline (a/k/a beautiful downtown NYC or LA), it's good to hear that The Queen is garnering rave reviews. Third Avenue (a Brit in NYC) and Normblog (a Brit in the UK) both wax rhapsodic, amazing when you consider that Brits are famously understated in their enthusiasm for their homeland (except during times of war) and that they are neither monarchists nor besotted Blairites. Interesting comments on Britain, in both, as well as about the film.

Meanwhile, hurray for the release in the U.S. of 49 Up, the seventh in Michael Apted's "Up" series (Seven Up (directed by Paul Almond in 1963), 7 plus Seven (1970), 21 Up (1977), 28 Up (1985), 35 Up (1991), 42 Up (1998)). Apted has had quite a career (read his biography and the list of his tv and movie work (Coronation Street, Coal Miner's Daughter, Gorillas in the Mist, Enigma, Gorky Park, etc.) and seems to be going strong, fortunately. 49Up is reviewed today and, not surprisingly, sounds as engrossing and wonderful as the others. I can't wait to see them now, 42 years later. And apparently Apted is already planning 56Up.

Labels: movies

The families of the murdered Amish girls have invited the murderer's widow to the funeral services. Forgive my non-Amish puzzlement, but what does it accomplish to invite her and, even more, what would it accomplish if she attended? At first glance, inviting her sounds generous and forgiving, but I wonder. After all, what would it feel like for them, or for her? Wouldn't it basically just be holding her face to the horror? 'Come, wife of the man who brutalized our children...look at what he did...see our dead children? see how sad we are? see what incredible losses we're enduring while you still have your children, you wife of a bad man?!' Furthermore, imagine what it would be like for her. If she knew that her husband had been heading toward a psychological and violent precipice, seeing the dead children and their sad parents would make her even more agonized and grief-stricken than she must already feel. And if she had tried even a little to do anything to get him help, then seeing the children and parents would make her even more agonized and guilt-ridden. So I repeat my question: what does inviting her do, besides making the families look generous and tolerant?

Labels: modern culture, reflections

Don't you never wonder why it is that politicians, who won't breathe unless there's an secondary motive and whose primary motives are often breathtakingly self-serving, have such a bad reputation?

Labels: politics

I still don't understand how the Foley mess is playing out because of these things:

--Sixteen-year-olds are not children, strictly speaking

--Alan Sullivan wonders that the reaction is as if Foley were a pedophile, though he's not (partly because they're >16 and partly because he "only" had words with them (at least as far as we know)

--Words can be abusive and have horrible effects, but sticks, stones and body parts really are in a different league

--Representatives on both sides of the proverbial congressional aisle knew about the email and im's but did not act on their knowledge, so (a) quit the hypocritical handwringing about children, (b) shame on them, and (c) why did they wait over a year

--Remember Monica Lewinsky? She was only a very few years older than the pages. Where's the sympathy for her? After all, Clinton had actual sex with her (whatever linguistic games he wants to play) and he was president. Yet, after the initial shock, the consensus was basically "gee it's his private life".

And don't forget Jack Kennedy and Teddy Kennedy and godknowshowmany women in godknowshowmany restaurants and cars (not to mention murder, accidental though it may have been)

I find myself wondering if there's a homophobic component to all this. As in, I doubt there'd be as much fuss if the emailed and im'ed pages were girls. As in #2, pretty women teachers who have sex with students receive milder reprimands (if any) than men teachers who do the same. As in #3, several other unsavory examples that earned wrist slaps or bemusement or nothing much at all ( ht's: Sister Toldjah and Fresh Bilge).

-Jesse Jackson and Karin Stanford and their affair and child
-Mel Reynolds, a 16-year-old and "real" sex (then he went to work, believe it or not, for Jesse Jackson)
-Mike Acuri and phone sex
-Gerry Studds and a16-year-old Congressional page (after which he served 13 more years in Congress)
-Barney Frank and his roomate/male prostitute (and the latter's 33 parking tickets; he's still in Congress)

Also, as sad as I am that Mark Foley was molested as a teenager, I'm not sure what he'd like that to buy him. It's appalling but true that many many many of us (some reports say five of every six girls) were groped or seriously mistreated (for want of a more intense word). Perhaps without therapy one can vow never to do such things to anyone, ever, but be unable to put that vow into effect. It's good that "all" he did (as far as we know) was write and say lewd things, and maybe I should feel sorry for him and regret that he was unable to separate his own unhappiness from what he did to others, but mostly I feel repelled.

Labels: blogs (others'), politics, reflections

The Foley situation is undeniably truly horrible. A mess. A bad situation. In fact, except that I wouldn't want to touch him, I would eagerly beat up and chop off the body parts of anyone who does such things. Nary a soul would suggest that we should ignore pedophiles, especially if they're running around the halls of Congress. But consider for a moment if Foley were being accused of something different. Something like, oh, I don't know, being a communist sympathizer. Remind you of anything? I mean, some people genuinely thought communism was dreadful, tantamount to satanic presence, and they were alarmed as all get-out when they thought communists were federal office holders and/or administration apparatchiks staffers. And many other people thought anti-communism became absurdly extreme and out of control, and led to horrible behavior commonly referred to as witch hunting. (Can you say HUAC?)

My point being that after reading several pieces on all this, including this: (a) if all the people Foley approached were 16+, then it's still disgusting but it's not actually illegal, (b) it's not at all clear that anyone had good motives in this, (c) there were at least two previous congressmen involved in possibly worse situations but one of them served six more terms without any apparent ill effects to his career, (d) since George Soros is involved in the revelations, there is a wee alarm bell going off in my head that something is amiss about this mess, (e) the timing and quite a lot more are suspect on everyone's part, (f) where was everyone (both sides of the 'aisle') before now? and (g) I wish it wasn't such a part of our culture to engage in witch hunting instead of reasoned discovery processes, even when the hunted really are witches.

Labels: politics, reflections

Just when I was thinking I'd "arrived" in a creepy sort of way in that I got a great big spam-ish comment on one of my posts, I happened upon Michelle Malkin's post, A Personal Aside - one part testament to the joys of writing and blogging and one part horrifying recounting of what can happen when you become a target of anger and bile. I'm not sure I'd be as sanguine as she is. Then again, I'm not the idea-maven or writer she is, either.

Labels: blogs (others'), reflections, writing

Reading this report, I am reminded of The Children's Hour. Thankfully, there are few evil or conniving children, but watch the heck out if you happen upon one.

Labels: huh?

I am loathe to complain about Blogger since (a) it's free, and (b) it works really well a lot of the time (wide range from 60-95% of the time), and (c) I've learned tons about html and web building thanks to their service and the amount of interaction it allows, and (d) I am therefore very and eternally grateful. Nevertheless it is incredibly thoroughly totally enormously annoying to get error messages and lose work day after day, always right after writing or designing something (never after a minor tweak, of course). TPTB often put up messages about "shutting down at 4 p.s.t." or words to that effect. So it wouldn't be entirely out of character if they put up something like "server trouble - please go away for ten minutes" or something less sarcastic but equally to the point. It would bolster our sense of not being incompetent, for one thing, and would let us know to just go do something else for a while. Plus, it would be good public relations. Right?

Labels: blogs (mine), whining

Thanks to Sunday Morning Coffee whom I discovered while browsing from Laura's Musings yesterday, I've finally found some user-friendly Java script for collapsing menus so now my links lists don't have to go aaaaaallllll the way down the page. (User friendly, by the way, means nothing more dramatic than "I understand it so I can use and modify it".) The site is flooble, almost certainly named after some amusing technogeek thingamajig, and there are many other great things there besides the expandable content script, so have a look. Update: Minor fallacy of cleverly collapsed lists is that you can't search within them unless they're expanded. Grrr.

Labels: blogs (others'), fun, web design

Alas, Kitty's 88-year-old mother 'faded away' last week. But what a wonderful little essay about her last day.

Labels: blogs (others'), reflections

As if one can believe anything anyone says. Most politicians say whatever they think voters want to hear, on the assumption that people will, all wide-eyed innocents, accept their say-so. News reporters state things they think, on the assumption that their say-so makes it true. One of my favorites, though, is imprisoned criminals who say how things were and/or who did those things, calmly and ever so seriously. One should take their word for things, why?

Labels: huh?, politics

I like the maps - I always like maps. They're nice to look at and they provide information visually, sometimes showing things we might not see otherwise. On the other hand, fallacies can result from overly simplistic presentation. In Friday's post at Dadvocate, yet another interesting piece of his, 'dad' muses about several maps describing the 2004 election. It's the third map, "Outside the Beltway", that made me want to say something. Its presenters label blue (Kerry) parts as "larger metropolitan areas". But look at them. See how hugely blue Maine and New Hampshire are? Okay, but tell me how where Maine and NH have any large metropolitan areas. Or southern New Mexico and Texas. Or....

What it comes down to, of course, is that somehow many people still feel irked by the 2004 election. I'm not sure why it's so hard for them to accept that the simple fact is that most voters simply preferred Bush's ideas and plans. People who didn't like Clinton or Reagan dealt with those elections without becoming psychotic, after all. Our country is founded on the idea that most people have a fundamental intelligence and good will, isn't it? Thomas Jefferson believed that if you give people the opportunity to make choices about their lives, they will do so well. Isn't that what democracy is all about? Let's face it, there's no box-like explanation for why people vote the way they do. In 2004 we listened and made choices. For some (still inexplicable) reason, this caused more frustration than usual for those who did not vote for the person who won the election.

Labels: blogs (others'), places